Wear resistant coatings consisting of titanium carbide dispersed in a metal matrix are well known in the art. It is also known in the art that such wear resistant coatings can be formed by heating a combination of carbon, titanium and other metal to a temperature at which the titanium and carbon react to form the titanium carbide in situ as a dispersed phase in the matrix formed by the other metal as it melts. One manner of accomplishing such a wear resistant coating is to form a particulate mixture of carbon and titanium, form a wire of the other metal and then heat the wire and mixture simultaneously while in contact with each other. It is also known to use a binder for the mixture and to coat the mixture onto the wire so as to provide the contact between the mixture and the wire. Still further, it is known that titanium alloys can be used to supply the titanium to the mixture.
It is also known that weld wires and the like can be made of composite structure, with a core of one composition surrounded by a jacket of another composition. But where such composite wire is used it is generally a matter of indifference as to which metal forms the core and which metal forms the jacket. In the case of composite welding wires or soldering wires wherein the combination is a metal and a flux, sometimes the jacket is the flux and sometimes the core is the flux.